By Rich Twilling

TNA Impact on Spike TV
Taped in Orlando, Fla.

[Q1] Footage of Hulk Hogan giving Abyss his Hall of Fame ring was shown. Abyss' transformation over the past months was shown. Abyss said Hogan could not stop him. Tonight's show is entitled, "The Voices in my Head." ...

Twill's Two Cents: No, Randy Orton will not be appearing on this show with his WWE theme music.

Abyss was shown throwing a bunch of chairs in the ring. Where is the new ECW faction now? Abyss went after SoCal Val, but Hogan's music hit. He made his way to the ring. Taz mentioned his back surgery and the fact he is scheduled for more.

Eric Bischoff came out to stop Hogan. Hogan said Abyss was a cancer and he wanted to eliminate him. They were going to go at it, but the "We take our sweet ass time" security team stopped them. Eric called Abyss an ungrateful son of a bitch and followed with a left forearm to the face.

Abyss took care of the security team and eyeballed Bischoff. Hogan hit Abyss in the back twice with a chair. Abyss no sold and went after Hogan. Jeff Hardy made the save with numerous chair shots and a Swanton. The trio left together as Abyss talked to himself...

Hardy went back to the ring and the security stopped them both. Abyss said Hardy belonged to him tonight. Abyss went up to Taz and Hogan pointed him. He stared at him after beating up two more security guards... [C]

Backstage, Abyss went NXT on the chairs by throwing them everywhere. Bischoff and Hogan said they needed to get rid of Abyss. Hardy paced back and forth before saying he wanted Abyss tonight. Bischoff gave him the match and said they had his back...

[Q2] 1. The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) defeated Ink Inc. (Shannon Moore and Jesse Neal) in 5:26. The Guns hit their double double team move with dropkicks to the face. Brother Devon went to the announce table and said what Brother Ray is doing to Jesse Neal is wrong.

The Guns looked great on offense while Devon and Taz talked about the Ray vs. Neal situation. Devon mentioned "ECW" by name. Interesting. Neal hit a spear, but Sabin broke up the pinfall. Ray came out and Devon stopped him. They argued. The Guns hit a Sliced Bread/Powerbomb combination for the win...

Twill's Two Cents: This match should have been about the Guns, but instead, it was all about Ray, Devon, and Jesse Neal. The Guns should be the next tag team champions, so they should be treated as more than a supporting team.

The Pope was advertised for tonight...

Eric Bischoff came out and verified tonight's Jeff Hardy vs. Abyss main event. He made RVD the special guest referee...

Dixie Carter was shown on her phone walking backstage... [C]

[Q3] 2. Samoa Joe defeated A.J. Styles (with Ric Flair and Kazarian) in 6:43. Joe beat down Styles in the corner. With Joe dominating, A.J. thumbed Joe in the eye and hit a picture perfect dropkick. Styles slammed Joe. He then took out Joe's knee.

Styles wiggled out of the Muscle Buster and tried to apply the figure four, but Joe locked in the rear naked choke instead. Styles tried to fight it, but he tapped out relatively quickly...

Afterward, Flair was pissed at Styles and treated Kazarian like the favorite son. They left Styles behind and A.J. grabbed a mic. Styles said he would beat Kazarian like a girl in the ring. Flair didn't think it was possible. A.J. made the challenge for next week. Kaz and Flair accepted... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: Styles looks well on his way to becoming a babyface. Flair is smarter than to think A.J. cannot beat Kazarian, but it could be his famous mind games. As for the match itself, Tenay did mention Joe would likely move up in the rankings. I'd like to see TNA do their rankings like ROH does, where every match means something.

[Q4] Backstage, Hogan, Bischoff, and Dixie Carter were in a meeting together. Hogan and Bischoff wanted Sting suspended. Hogan and Dixie argued over who Sting really is. She finally relented and said she had to do this on her own...

3. Brian Kendrick defeated Desmond Wolfe (with Chelsea) in a submission match in 3:27. Douglas Williams joined the announce booth. He put over Wolfe and other British wrestlers as superior submission specialists. Chelsea left and the distraction allowed Kendrick to win the match with the Cobra Clutch...

Twill's Two Cents: I like that Kendrick is getting a solid push. I don't like that Wolfe was treated like a jobber here. Remember, this is the same guy that came in and instantly became the hottest guy in the company went he went after Kurt Angle. I hope he gets his turn again.

The Pope was shown walking backstage... [C]

Some POS cameraman followed Tommy Dreamer home and asked him what he was doing in TNA. Tommy said it was his personal time. The cameraman asked again. Tommy pushed the camera down and said it was his time...

A D'Angelo Dinero return video aired. Pope wore a suit and diamond studded belt buckle only him and I could pull off. The crowd chanted "Hallelujah" at Pope. Pope began to tear up and said it was moments like this that make everything he has ever done worth it.

[Q5] He collected himself and said everyone, including Hulk Pope, Dixie Pope, and Eric Pope, were a part of the congregation. He called out Mr. Anderson and said it was not over between them despite Anderson fooling other people with his new attitude.

Pope said he was back, he was going to earn the number one position in the rankings, and he would become the World Heavyweight Champion for the greatest company in the world, TNA. Kurt Angle's music hit and he headed out to the ring.

Remember, Kurt is now #9 and Pope is #8. Angle welcomed Pope back and called him the very bright future of TNA. He said their paths have crossed and they will face at Victory Road. He said his first loss could be his last match. They shook hands and Angle said, "May the best man win." ... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: Not every angle has to have bells, whistles, fireworks, or whatnot to be great. That was a great segment. Pope's genuine concern was only surpassed by his ability to collect himself to deliver a great promo. The mutual respect society is always a favorite of mine in wrestling. Also, Angle having these matches on pay-per-view is a great thing for TNA PPVs.

The Jay Lethal and Ric Flair saga was chronicled. Lethal's brother took a beating from Flair and A.J. Styles...

Lethal made his entrance and began a promo. Lethal said his brother is not a wrestler and he was not leaving the ring until Flair or Styles came out...

[Q6] Matt Morgan made his entrance for their scheduled match. Morgan said Flair asked him to join Fortune. Morgan said he had yet to decide but there was one thing he and Flair could agree on. He attacked Lethal...

4. Jay Lethal defeated Matt Morgan in 4:50. Morgan took advantage of a mentally distracted Lethal. After dominating, he missed a Carbon Footprint and was crotched on the ropes. Hernandez hit Morgan with a low blow. Lethal hit the springboard dropkick for the win...

Twill's Two Cents: Nice win for Lethal. Crowd was not as hot for him as they have been. I still think he is the right guy to be getting a push. Solid progression for the Matt Morgan vs. Herandez program.

Backstage, Abyss was driving nails into a board. He said it was only a matter of time before "They" owned TNA... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: Hogan wants rid of Abyss? How about, I don't know, firing him!

[Q7] 5. Madison Rayne defeated Taylor Wilde in a non-title match in 2:59. Taz mentioned dissention between Taylor and Sarita from Xplosion. Tenay told Taz he didn't know what he meant. Taz told him to watch the product. Ouch.

Dreamer, Stevie Richards, Rhino, and Raven made their way through the crowd. Tenay asked Taz about it and Taz said he had no idea. There was a match still going on and Madison scored the pinfall after hitting her finisher...

Afterward, Angelina Love hit Madison with a chair to the gut. She set up for the chair DDT, but Madison slipped out of there...

Twill's Two Cents: Solid action and more from the former ECW guys. Looking forward to this unfolding. The Love vs. Rayne feud is a good one.

Dixie Carter walked up to the rafters to confront Sting in his office... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: Could you imagine being the pizza guy having to deliver to Sting? That would suck.

Backstage, Taylor and Sarita brawled for a very long time until security finally showed up to end the fight...

The Victory Road pay-per-view card was ran down by Tenay and Taz...

Dixie said she had been looking for Sting. She should have known where to find him. She suspended Sting for thirty days without pay. The crowd booed. Sting said it wasn't about the money and was about to tell her why he's been doing the stuff he's being doing.

"Bad Timing" Eric Bischoff stopped Sting and had security take him away. Sting told her to make the suspension indefinite. He then told Dixie she needed someone to be with her 24 hours a day. Smooth! They walked off camera... [C]

Twill's Two Cents: It's hard to comment on this until we see the execution of the finished product. I'm guessing it will result in Sting wrestling another main event program, and I just don't think he can do that anymore. The fans booing when the suspension was announced does solidify his popularity in TNA.

[Q8] RVD made his entrance. Tenay said not many referees get pyro. Shawn Michaels always did and JR even commented on it once. With Abyss in the ring, Hardy made a really slow, walking entrance...

Twill's Two Cents: I know Abyss has the nail board, but wasn't Hardy pissed off beyond belief earlier? Shouldn't he have just sprinted to the ring?

6. Jeff Hardy defeated Abyss with Rob Van Dam as the special referee in 6:10. They fought to the floor and Hardy tried to use Abyss' weapon. Taz mentioned the "They" Abyss keeps talking about and then brought up the ECW guys. Hmmm, that seemed odd to give that away.

RVD called it down the middle. Hardy hit the Whisper in the Wind for a two count. Abyss regained the advantage and scored a nearfall with a splash. Hardy hit a Twist of Fate, but Abyss stopped Hardy on the ropes, presumably going for the Swanton.

Abyss climbed the ropes and went for a chokeslam. He pushed Abyss to the mat and then won the match with the Swanton...

Abyss beat on Hardy after the match and then hit a Blackhole Slam on RVD. Mr. Anderson made the save, but accidentally hit Hardy with a chair. Abyss hit the Shock Treatment on Anderson. Abyss looked over his three Victory Road opponents...

Twill's Two Cents: Not a great main, but the end of show visual sent a message. Also, with Pope calling out Anderson and Anderson "accidentally" hitting Hardy with a chair, they are setting up a couple of programs moving forward. Solid broadcast from TNA as Victory Road takes shape.

Thank you for following along with me tonight. See you next week.

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